Nestler Laboratory, Fishberg Department of Neuroscience, Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Experimental Approaches

The lab is searching for molecular changes in the reward regions of the brain that are produced by drugs of abuse or stress. We want to understand how individual molecular changes alter the functional state of the neurons and contribute to specific behavioral aspects of addiction or depression. We are also interested in understanding how these molecular changes are caused by repeated exposure to a drug or stress. Our work strives to integrate molecular biology, electrophysiology and cell biology, and behavior. Examples of the experimental tools used in the laboratory are described on subsequent pages.